Power in Fossil Fuel Supply-Side Policy: Closing Down and Opening Up Opportunities to Phase Out Fossil Fuel Production

Abstract Supply-side climate policy initiatives that restrict fossil fuel production are gathering momentum. A growing body of academic scholarship seeks to understand this new frontier in global climate governance, including several recent papers on the topic published in the Global Environmental Politics journal. As part of the future-facing content of this anniversary special issue, we address a missing aspect of this debate: deeper analysis of the relations of power that affect the adoption of supply-side policies, such as bans, moratoria, and phaseout policies, whose success is critical to addressing climate change. To provide this, we first identify the main aspects and dimensions of supply-side climate policies and why they are important. Second, we explore the forms of power that “close down” supply-side climate policies, focusing in turn on the power of fossil capital, the geopolitical power of fossil fuels, and the cultural power of fossil fuels. In each case, we propose ways in which countervailing forces can “open up” supply-side climate policies to disrupt incumbent power and unlock the potential of alternative energy futures beyond fossil fuels. This provides a foundation for future research on supply-side climate policy in global environmental politics while also enhancing understanding of structural, systemic, and enabling transformations in climate politics.